Baptist Insurance grants case study: The Turning  

The Turning transforms disciple-making with web-based App and localised training for churches

In 2017, Baptist Insurance Company provided a grant to The Turning, an evangelistic campaign begun by the Revd Yinka Oyekan and The Gate Baptist Church Reading, which aims to equip Baptist believers to share their faith with others. The money has been used to fund the development of a web-based App, which has underpinned growth of The Turning throughout Europe.
 

The way of making disciples is cultural, local, and differs from place to place

Yinka said, 'Many people don’t feel confident to disciple others because they’re scared ‘they’ll get it wrong’. The Turning is a movement to train, support and share the making of disciples together. Because we work and train local people through hubs of churches in each community, the message of the Gospel remains the same but trained disciples are able to navigate the cultural landscape of their own communities.'
 
The Turning’s App has been invaluable in training disciples to reach out to others on the street. It can be downloaded for free onto any phone, and includes a free online Bible and daily morning devotion messages.

 
To date, the App has been translated into Spanish, French and German

'It’s just so crazy to think that a little Baptist church in Reading can do all this,' said Yinka. 'The whole Baptist family has stood with us and supported The Turning. Together, we’ve transformed thousands of lives and added 17,000 disciples to our family in a few short years.'
 
'We are really excited to see the impact of The Turning,' said Anne Bishop, Chair of the Baptist Insurance Company Grants Committee, 'and feel privileged to have played our part in enabling it to disciple those who respond to the street events.'

Yinka became President of the Baptist Union in May 2020. The Turning’s London mission, planned for September, was cancelled because of Covid-19 but will be replaced in 2021 by an England-wide mission, which all are invited to join (more details can be found on The Turning’s website).
 

To read more about the inspiring ways that Baptist Churches are benefiting from Baptist Insurance grants, or to submit an application, please visit: https://www.baptist-insurance.co.uk/grants/